It's understandable that margins are
often slim on certain items in the retail business, and companies
look to offer additional services to help bolster the bottom line.
However, Best Buy seems to take things to the extreme at times.

Best Buy's Geek Squad division often
comes under a lot of scrutiny for high-priced services. Earlier this
year, The Consumerist called out Best Buy's “worthless”
$40 optimization service for new computers. Today, however, the
electronics retail giant is being called out for PS3 firmware updates
according
to DualShockers.

A Best Buy in New York is offering
customers a service which tacks an extra $30 onto the purchase price
of a new 120GB PS3 system that has been upgraded to the latest
firmware. According to Best Buy, the firmware update includes:

Play(s) all Blu-ray movies and PS3
games

Eliminates bugs and glitches

System runs smoother

Improves connectivity to Facebook

Power save settings

Photo gallery and video editor

Adds PlayStation Plus

Improved system settings

For PS3 users, performing a firmware
update on the PS3 is simple as going to the system menu and selecting
system updates. All of this is of course free to the user and
requires nothing more than a few button presses on the controller
(and an internet connection).

Of course, Best Buy's firmware update
is an optional service and no one has to purchase it -- just like
customers don't have to purchase optimizations services for new PCs
-- but it just seems a little off-putting to say the least.

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This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

And what's wrong with this? There are plenty of idiots out there who don't know how to update their console. If companies can charge for things like removing spy ware and viruses (which you can remove using free programs) why not charge to update your console?

A huge reason why America is such an attractive place to do business is our buyers protections and anti-scam regulation. When you go to a store in the US, you can be pretty safe in knowing you won't get ripped off, and if you do that it will be made right. This is a HUGE boon to commerce for both consumers and businesses. People who don't feel like they need to research every little thing before they buy it in order not to get ripped off are far more likely to buy things.

Shady business practices like these hurt everyone, not just the foolish.

quote: When you go to a store in the US, you can be pretty safe in knowing you won't get ripped off, and if you do that it will be made right. This is a HUGE boon to commerce for both consumers and businesses. People who don't feel like they need to research every little thing before they buy it in order not to get ripped off are far more likely to buy things.

If by "ripped off" you mean overpaying, then I'd argue that if you go into a store and expect not to overpay every time, without doing any research, you're getting ripped off every time you leave your house. It's your responsibility to weigh your options when deciding which product or service fits your needs, and then to shop around to find the lowest price. NOBODY should expect to just walk into any store and get the best value.

quote: Shady business practices like these hurt everyone, not just the foolish.

That's because you've probably never visited a country with weak consumer protections. It's absolutely false that everyone else benefits, you're just confusing your microeconomic benefit of paying less once for a macroeconomic benefit of having a smooth running consumer product sector.

How are they being ripped off? If someone does not know how to update their console they can pay $30 to have Best Buy do it for them? It's a service, get over it. If you're too lazy to cook food aren't you gonna go to the McDonalds down the street? Just because there is a service for something you and I feel is trivial or not needed, doesn't mean it's the same for everyone else.

It's not about being happy to have to spend money; it's about being able to get service for something you don't know how to do.

Please don't use the term "ripped off" so easily since it sounds like Best Buy is doing something wrong. And what's up with the personal attacks dude? Chill out; go get laid. Damn! I'm not a Best Buy messiah or anything.

I personally will never have to use it and I might not agree with the price they are charging for it, but I am happy that something like this is available for people who might need it.

I can't say I expected anything different from the conceited, know-it-all, DT crew.

I have nothing to "get over" by the way, I just find you amusing, but still hope that you don't find yourselves being exploited like this some day, even thought many of you seem to revel in the knowledge that others are in cases such as this, and think it's OK because they are "idiots", simply because they don't know something that you do, which you think everyone should know, as if you are the grand arbiters of common knowledge.

By the way, are you really calling something that will happen automatically, which you will be forced to do if you intend to use your console on-line as a "service", comparable to receiving an actual tangible product from McDonald's? Seriously?

Far from me having to "get over it", I fear that many of you here need to get over yourselves.

Of course, seeing as there are many of your ilk here, we all know which way the ratings will go here, but in a wider sense, I would suggest that they are somewhat hollow "worth reading" ratings.